Fuel Economy
It seemed like a simple plan. Fill each car until the pump clicked, let it click a second time and then seal the gas door. At the finish, re-fill to two clicks and record how much fuel it took.
Things didn't go exactly as planned. Ryan Hawkins filled his Supra's tank with race gas, using five-gallon jugs at K&N. Presumably, this was to keep us from diluting his octane for the following day's events. So it wouldn't take any more gas at the station.
At the end of the competition, the pump immediately clicked when we went to fill it back up and we couldn't get it to take more than a gallon of gas. There were similar problems topping off the Integra, which was running a Frankenstein'd MR2 tank and filler.
Next year, we're probably going to have to revise filling methods. Future competitors: please don't go installing chokers on your fuel necks.
Our change of track venue meant our traditional traffic-free fuel economy mountain route was thrown out. We were tired of the usual support vehicle drafting and mpg-inflating downhill coasting cheats anyway. So we devised a 70-mile ordeal through the most heinous construction- and traffic-infested areas we could find between K&N Engineering and California Speedway. And then we didn't tell anyone about the route until the guide notes were revealed right before the test.
Our route and navigation instructions were so convoluted, only the PDX Tuning team and Jacko Luong in the GT-R decided to brave the route without the added weight of a navigator (or passenger seat, for that matter, in the case of the STI). Ironically, fuel economy was the only competition Kim was obsessed about winning with his flyweight Ariel Atom.
The rest of the pack used standard tactics: over-inflated tires, spare tires removed, windows closed, electronics and A/C switched off-despite temperatures still hovering in the high-90s. With all the big-wing downforce machines in the group, only the GT-R had its rear spoiler and front splitter removed.
The procession (fully tanked up with all fuel access points sealed by our staff) left our departure-point gas station shortly after 5pm, straight into notorious Southern California traffic. We giggled-none of them had any idea of what was in store. Their only instruction was to follow the route, as we had people camped out at random checkpoints along the way.
Then the call came from Dunn in the pack-leading Integra. Our route, which we reconnoitered as a relatively light traffic area just days ago, was closed temporarily, because of some yahoo flying through the two-lane back road whose car now rested shiny side down.
By the time I got to the scene, seven of the 10 cars were parked on the shoulder (those that could do so without ripping off a bumper), forming probably the most impressive car show ever in that neck of the woods. And huddled in a group under the only shade available were the drivers-all soaked in sweat. Thirty minutes passed before the road was reopened and the group slowly filtered back out. The final leg of the drive was the high-speed return leg on an interstate full of truckers who had no idea why they were all being drafted in a pack. It was a perfect rerun of The Fast and the Furious.
It was well over two hours before we saw the first cars rolling into the gas station. And, once the ignition was off, every group's first priority was to run into the mini-mart for drinks. Dunn's Integra beat out the pack by using only 1.6 gallons on the 69.5-mile stop-and-go trek. This included an accidental detour from the road closure. At 44 miles per gallon, this was a little extreme, even for a bone-stock Honda engine. But nothing compared to the 41mpg that Ryan Hawkins' 3.5-liter, fire-breathing automatic Supra scored. We think he's been to one too many of our competitions.
Kim's Atom, which averaged 40mph on the interstate, managed third place with a realistic 34mpg. The open-chassis aero was more to his disadvantage than he realized.
-Jay Chen
We were now well behind schedule. There were loose plans earlier for a group dinner at the close of day one. But, as soon as each competitor had their fuel topped off, they were released to the hotel for much needed and deserved rest.
The group reassembled early next morning in the massive parking lot of California Speedway. All the foo-foo tests were done with, so it was time to unleash the cars' performance potential. The schedule on the second day was even tighter than the first. We needed to knock out the Acceleration, Braking and Skidpad tests as quickly as possible, then trek up to Willow Springs International Raceway for the Road Course and Gross Display of Horsepower.
In the interest of expediency, we split into two groups. Scott Mortara, Road Test Editor for Motor Trend magazine, came out and drove the cars in the braking competition while Andy Hope took to the skidpad.